author
Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi
1207–1273
A towering voice in Persian poetry, this 13th-century Sufi mystic wrote verses that still feel intimate, musical, and full of wonder. Best known for the Masnavi and the Divan-e Shams, he explored love, longing, and the search for union with the divine.
3 Audiobooks
The Festival of Spring, from the Díván of Jeláleddín Rendered in English Gazels after Rückert's Versions, with an Introduction and a Criticism of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
by Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi
The Persian Mystics: Jalálu'd-dín Rúmí
by Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi
The Mesnevi
by Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi
About the author
Born in 1207 in Balkh, in what is now Afghanistan, Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi later settled in Konya, in present-day Turkey. He was trained as a scholar and religious teacher, and over time became one of the most influential figures in Sufi thought and Persian literature.
A turning point in his life came with his encounter with the wandering mystic Shams al-Din of Tabriz. That friendship transformed his writing and spiritual outlook, inspiring deeply emotional lyric poetry as well as the vast Divan-e Shams. Rumi is also celebrated for the Masnavi, a major work of storytelling, reflection, and spiritual teaching.
He died in 1273, but his reach has only grown since then. Read across languages, faiths, and cultures, Rumi remains beloved for poetry that speaks simply and powerfully about love, grief, devotion, and the human longing for meaning.